Dental brush



Dec. 5, 1933- c. SWOPE El AL DENTAL BRUSH Filed May 13, 1952 G/Swqpe L -fi -La L'rd PatentedDec. 5, 19 33 i i UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcr. 1

DENTAL BRUSH Charles Swope and Lou Dunlap Laird, Columbus,

Ohio Application May 13, 1932. Serial No, 611,131

5 Claims. (01. -167) This invention relates to an improved cleaning formed from any suitable material used in appliance in the form of a brush particularly brushes for the mounting and support of bristles, designed for use in maintaining artificiallteeth, such. as molded composition materials, wood, plates, bridges, or other dentures in a cleanly and metal, bone and the like. In this instance, the

5 sanitary condition. body is formed with a depending curvilineal rib It is well known to dentists and users of re- 3 of reduced thickness which integrally depends movable artificial teeth that the latter require, from the transversely widenedbody portion 2, the and should be given at frequent intervals, consurfaces of the rib and the under surfaces of the siderable care and attention in the matter of body 2 having projecting therefrom perpendicu- 10 completely and thoroughly cleaning or removlarly disposed bristles 4. The upper part of the 65,

ing various deposits of food, film and undesired body 2 includesa segmental manipulating or foreign matter from their surfaces. Such thorgripping portion 5, disposed above and lying subough cleaning is not a simple matter since artistantially within the confines of the body or head ficial teeth, when mounted on a plate or the like 2. The portion 5 is constructed so that it may s are so disposed as to present numerous relabe gripped by the fingers of the brush user.

tively inaccessible crevices, pockets and interwhereby oscillatory or other cleaning motion may stices in which foreign particles readily lie and be imparted to the brush and the denture underform tenacious film which ordinary cleaning going cleaning. By locating the manipulating with accepted appliances does not remove. portion in the position disclosed, pressures ap- 20 The present invention, therefore, has for an pliedto the brush are directly brought to bear outstanding object to provide a cleaning applion the denture plate, so that there is little like- 'ance for the purpose set forth constructed to lihood of the denture or plate slipping fromthe possess unusual configuration and arrangement hand of the user during cleaning operation, as is of bristles adapting the brush to the curvature of the case when such a denture is cleaned with the as dental plates and, further, permitting the brush ordinary long'handled tooth brush. In fact, it 30 or the bristles thereof to reach theabovestated has been observed by dentists that the greater inaccessible regions of the teeth and their mountmajority of plate fractures are due to the operaings, to the end of readily maintaining the teeth tion of cleaning the plate with the ordinary tooth in a cleanly state free from foreign particles and brush, since the latter requires a punching or 30 objectionable and unsanitary matter. jabbing motion to be imparted to the plate which 35 For aefurtherunderstanding of the invention, frequently dislodges the letter from the hand reference is to be had to the following descripof the user, causing the dropping of the plate tion and the accompanying drawing, wherein: on hard surfaces with deleterious results.

Fig. 1 is a perspective .view of a dental brush In the form of the invention disclosed in Fig. 35 formed .in accordance with the present invenl, the single arcuate rib 3 and the rather short tion; bristles 4 projecting therefrom provides a con- Fig. 2 is a similar view disclosing the brush in struction admitting of the ready insertion of the use in the cleaning of a dental plate; rib and the bristles into, for example, the

Fig; 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view gingival pocket 6 of a dental plate 7 and, more- 40 disclosing the brush in a position to effect the over, due to the curvature of the rib 3, the cleancleaning of the gingival pocket of a dental plate;' ing appliance as a whole may be oscillated, as

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a dental plate showing shown in Fig. 4, along the length of said pocket. the brush in a cleaning position thereon; in order that the bristles may with facility reach Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken through all of the inaccessible surfaces of this particular 45 one end of the brush and illustrating the removportion of the dental plate so that such surfaces able stick member; may be completely and satisfactorily cleaned. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form It is well known that the surfaces of thepocket of the invention; 6, of the ordinary dental plate, are rough, un-

Fig. '7 is a transverse sectional view on the line even and contain a multiplicity of irregularities 50 7 -7 of Fig. 6. and depressions which produce conditions mak- 7 Referring more particularly to the drawing, ing it extremely difficult to secure satisfactory the numeral 1 designates the improved dental removal of foreign matter, however, by the curbrush comprising the present invention in its vature of the rib 3 and its general shape and entirety. The brush is formed to comprise an dimensions, as well as the location and length arcuately shaped body or head 2 which may be of the bristles 4 thereon, results in providing an effective cleaning means for reaching these inaccessible regions with a considerable degree of facility. One end of the brush body is provided with an enlargement 8 having the upper surface 9 thereof formed to be substantially flat and arranged at an acute angle to the horizontal. This upper surface is also provided with perpendicularly disposed bristles 10 which permitthe brush to be reversed in position, from that disclosed in Fig. 3, in order that the bristles 10 may be brought to bear on other surfaces of a given plate which can be cleaned more advantageously with bristles of the kind disclosed at 10 rather than of the type and form as disclosed at 4. Also, one of the ends of the body is provided with a wire loop or bale 11 formed with wire round in cross section. If for any reason cleaning with the bristles of the brush does not result in the desired dislodgement of the foreign matter or film, the same may be removed by scraping with the loop 11. Other types of film may be removed more advantageously by means of a removable stick member 12 received within the socket 13 formed in the end of the brush body opposite to that to which the loop 11 is secured. The stick member maybe formed from a material such as orange wood and provided with a beveled outer edge portion 14, which may be use to scrape the surfaces of a denture to assist, for instance, in film removal.

As a. modification of the above structure, there has been disclosed in Figs. 6 and 7 a brush possessing all of the essential attributes of the brush disclosed in Fig. l but wherein a slightly diiferent cross sectional formation is provided. In this form of-the invention, the body 15 of the brush is provided with a pair of transversely spaced depending ribs 16, instead of the single centrally disposed rib 3 set forth in Fig. 3. By the use of a plurality of ribs 16, an arcuate groove 17 is formed between said ribs and the body 15 which, as shown in Fig. 7, is of such width as to receive within it the gingival flange 18 of the plate 19, and bristles 20 project inwardly and perpendicularly from the inner surfaces of the ribs '16 and the lower surface of the body 15 in order that both the inner and outer surfaces of the flange 18 may be simultaneously cleaned by the operation of the brush.

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that .the present invention provides a cleaning appliance which has been particularly constructed and designed for facilitating thorough and ethcient cleaning of artificial tooth dentures. The appliance involves in a single instrumentality all of the features necessary to reach and clean the surfaces, both accessible and relatively inaccessible, of a dental plate and avoids specifically the use of a multiplicity of separate instrumentalities heretofore largely used in operations of this kind such, for example, as the employment of separate sticks, wire members and various types of brushes. While the invention has been described in considerable detail, it will be understood that it is subject to variation or modification without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A cleaning appliance for artificial teeth comprising an arcuate body shaped to conform substantially to the marginal curvature of a dental plate, bristles projecting from the lower surfaces of said body, and a manipulating member integrally formed with said body arranged above and possessing substantially the curvature thereof, said manipulating member being of such height that it can only be held by the finger tips of the operator.

2. A dental brush comprising a body of arcuate formation shaped to conform substantially to the curvature ofthe marginal portion of a dental plate, a flange of arcuate form depending from the under surface of said body, brush bristles embedded in said flange and extending outwardly therefrom, and an arcuately shaped manipulating handle formed with the upper portion of said body and arranged in vertical alignment with said flange, said manipulating handle together with said body and flange produces a cross shaped transverse sectional formation of the brush. I

3. A dental brush comprising an arcuate-body having a cross-shaped transverse sectional forination with the upper end of the cross forming the handle for the brush, and brush bristles carried by the under surface of the cross arms and with bristles extending outwardly from the surfaces of the lower member of the cross.

4. A dental brush comprising an arcuate body shaped to conform substantially to the curvature of the gingival regions of a dental plate, flanges formed with said body'having substantially the curvature of the latter and forming with said body vertical and horizontal faces, brush bristles i CHARLES SWOPE. -LOU DUNLAP LAIRD. 

